Eight of out 10 people in the United States are exposed to dust mites and six out of 10 are exposed to cat or dog dander, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA).

Dust mites, dander, cockroaches, and rodents can help spread allergies; currently 27 million people in the U.S. struggle with allergies, the AAFA says. Prevention is the best way to avoid allergies as well as illnesses from dust, dirt, and pollen.

Methods to avoid contact with allergens include:

• Air cleaning – using a device to improve air quality will remove the sources of these issues. Make sure the air cleaners are certified as “asthma and allergy friendly^©” to capture 98 percent of particles in the air.
• Avoid clutter in the home; consider drop down shades instead of heavy drapes.
• Use allergy resistant pillow and mattress covers. When you wash bedding, make sure to dry it at high temperatures after to kill any dust mites.
• For those with high allergy symptoms, not having a pet with feathers or fur is the healthiest option.

But keeping the insects, dust, and rodents out of your home so they don’t spread dirt and disease is very important. Burrtec is the leading manufacturer of door sweeps for residential door protection. Not only do they protect from rodents, but they keep dust, dirt, and pollen out too.

Exclusion is the best way to keep rodents from interrupting your daily life at home. Unlike companies that have regulations on keeping facilities pest-free – especially in food-handling establishments – consumers have no such requirement, so this practice isn’t always followed.

A simple way to make sure that pests are kept from a home is to do a full exterior walk around the home, searching for all available openings under siding, through holes in plumbing or utility penetrations, through gaps in windows or air ducts, and under doorways.

Doorways are at the top of the list because rodents can simply crawl under the opening an d into a home. Once inside, they can cause physical damage, can share disease, an d can eventually lead to a full infestation. Finding these openings an d plugging them with steel wool or placing door sweeps on external doors will prevent rodents from “walking right in.”

Burrtec is the leading manufacturer of door sweeps for residential door protection. Not only do they protect from rodents, but they keep dust, dirt, and pollen out too.

Burrtec USA is a leading manufacturer of door sweep solutions, providing quality exclusion products to PMPs an d building material suppliers. It is the North American division of Burrtec Co., Ltd., one of Japan’s largest pest control producers. To learn more about Burrtec, visit our U.S. website.

– Part 1 of 3 –

One of the top rodent experts in the pest industry is Dr. Bobby Corrigan. Just as many athletes who are “Hall of Famers,” so is Corrigan who is a member of the Pest Management Hall of Fame.

He has published hundreds of articles and has been consulting for decades. Dr. Corrigan’s three common entry points for rats and mice:

“Any penetration like a line that enters a home – a utility line, a plumbing line, a cable line, anything that goes through a wall, and you do not seal properly the rodents will follow that line where the penetration comes out.

“For gaps or holes, if it’s more than a 6 mm gap it allows a mouse in, if it’s more than a 12 mm gap, it allows a rat in. As you drive down the street you look at people’s garage doors and if you see light leaking from the garage door, that gap – a little gap makes it easy for them to enter.”

Keeping them from entering under doorways is a key by using door sweeps like Burrtec’s products.

Burrtec USA is a leading manufacturer of door sweep solutions, providing quality exclusion products to PMPs and building material suppliers. It is the North American division of Burrtec Co., Ltd., one of Japan’s largest pest control producers. To learn more about Burrtec, visit our U.S. website.

Written by Ed DeMask.

Chicago

Rats! Orkin’s annual list of the worst rat-infested cities has come out and Chicago just topped the list for the ninth consecutive year!

Orkin ranked metro regions by the number of new rodent treatments performed from Sept.1, 2022, to Aug. 31, 2023. This ranking includes both residential and commercial pest control treatments.

Chicago was tops on the list, while Los Angeles came in at No. 2, and New York ranked at No. 3. Orkin celebrated Chicago’s dubious achievement with a now sold-out t-shirt that can be viewed here.

Los Angeles

As California expands its moratorium on rat poison, the infestation around the city continues to get worse. Pest control companies are not able to use certain products to control rats – because one of the active ingredients is said to remain in the food chain, according to a Los Angeles Times interview.

As a result, homeowners and commercial property owners are turning to door sweeps as an alternative to keep mice and rats from entering a building through openings the size of a quarter.

Door Sweeps

Burrtec USA, a major manufacturer of door sweep products sold both in the United States and internationally, has door sweeps utilized by pest professionals throughout the East Coast, including New York.

Burrtec USA is a leading manufacturer of door sweep solutions, providing quality exclusion products to PMPs and building material suppliers. It is the North American division of Burrtec Co., Ltd., one of Japan’s largest pest control producers. To learn more about Burrtec, visit our U.S. website.

-New Director of Rodent Mitigation Seeks Change –

 

Kathleen Corradi hates rats. A former education department employee, New York Mayor Eric Adams hired Corradi in April as Citywide Director of Rodent Mitigation, also known as the city’s first Rat Czar.

 

Corradi instantly brought a promise to change the status quo to reduce the rodent population in New York. When her hiring was announced, she said “you’ll be seeing a lot of me, and a lot less rats,” according to Reuters.

 

This month, Adams announced that New York would require new trash cans in an effort to remove the trash bags – or “buffet line” as he mentioned – from the streets. Putting trash in cans will remove the ability for rodents to easily enter and sift through trash bags.

 

Another of the major issues that New York will need to address is how rodents enter under doorways through small spaces, this is one of the biggest entry points for rats and mice entering buildings, residential and commercial.

 

Burrtec USA, a major manufacturer of door sweep products sold both in the United States and internationally, has door sweeps utilized by pest professionals throughout the east coast, including New York.

 

Burrtec USA is a leading manufacturer of door sweep solutions, providing quality exclusion products to PMPs and building material suppliers. It is the North American division of Burrtec Co., Ltd., one of Japan’s largest pest control producers. To learn more about Burrtec, visit our U.S. website.