How to protect your home from pests this fall

There’s no denying it: the summer is drawing to a close, and as Montrealers spend more time indoors, the pests won’t be far behind. In a city that’s known for its winters, the colder months are high-season for small animals and insects looking to nest inside our homes.

Anyone who has lived in Montreal long enough has a story about pests – whether that be mice, rats, racoons, or one in a rainbow of bug species. When it comes to rodents, exterminator Denny Andrade has heard just about all of them.

“The mouse kind of ate away at some of the Gyprock here,” said Andrade, leaning into a cupboard below the sink in the kitchen of an east-Plateau apartment.

At the back of the cupboard, there’s a small hole, chewed and well-used by a mouse. 

“This is where all the business is for mice,” he said, gesturing to the cupboard. By ‘business,’ he means snacking on trash and compost so often stashed under the sink, and lapping up the drips and condensation from the water pipes.

He loaded up a small trap with poison, closed it, and headed for the roof looking for more entry points.

Montreal apartments make really good digs for mice. Rows of fully-attached lodgings allow rodents to travel freely from home to home. Aging bricks and concrete are full of ready-made tunnels, which need only be the diameter of a pinky-finger for a mouse to get through.

In recent years, Andrade says his calls have been ramping up. There seem to be more infestations, more droppings, and more horror stories of run-ins with unwanted animal intruders.

He says it’s likely got to do with the city’s recent decision to outlaw about 30 fungicides, insecticides, and rodenticides. In their absence, exterminators have to rely on gentler chemicals and mechanical traps.

“Some of the natural products aren’t quite sufficient,” said Robert Caron, an area manager with Orkin Canada, a large pest control company.

Then, during the winter, “the pests are like us. They're going to want to find shelter, to move indoors,” added Caron.

Exterminators have also said the pandemic pushed rats and mice out of their usual stomping grounds near restaurant dumpsters, sewers and parks, and into people’s residences looking for food during lockdowns.

And there may be another cause for the increase in calls: climate change. Researchers told The Associated Press last summer that warming temperatures mean more rats and mice are surviving the winter.

But despite all that, there is a lot you can do to protect your home or cottage this winter.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY

Experts say that, while you may never be able to fully pest-proof your home, limiting access is an effective preventative measure to fighting infestation.

For your home, Andrade says you should make sure there are no holes or gaps in your window or door screens. If you have access to the roof, check that your ventilation has anti-rodent mesh, and that it’s in good shape.

Take a look at the bricks and mouldings of your home and comb for gaps. Remember, if you can fit your pinky in, a mouse can get through.

If you’re closing up your cottage for the winter, Caron recommends moving any wood that might get wet, such as logs for fire or unused boards, away from your home. Damp wood makes a great home for insects that can travel into your property.

It’s also a good idea to trim any trees with branches hanging close to your building, for the same reason.

On the subject of moisture, he says people should take extra care to shut off their water when they leave, so that their pipes don’t burst in the cold. Just like damp logs outside, soaked support beams are also susceptible to wood boring pests.