Cockroaches And Mice Are Posing A Threat To Ontario’s Chinatown Restaurants

Posted on February 10, 2010 with No Comments

Chinatown restaurants in Ottawa, Ontario Canada are struggling to keep its restaurants up the Ontario’s Health Standards. 23 of the 42 restaurants in the district have been found to have non-critical infractions that affect food safety. However, 18 of the 42 have been found to have critical infractions. What has caused these infractions? Cockroaches and Mice have been rampant in these restaurants. Cockroaches and Mice have used the large areas and the big staff to make these new restaurants their home. What makes Cockroaches so concerning is the fact that they can hold up to 40 eggs, so when they give birth, there is another 40 possible Cockroaches coming. Mice have also been linked to infesting restaurants for many years.

It isn’t just the lower rung of restaurants having this problem. For example, Chu Shing, the largest restaurant on the block, and may be the most popular restaurant in the area, has been hit. Chu Shing has line that are notoriously long just to get into the place. Waits of up to a half hour isn’t an unusually occurence. However, Chu Shing has been hit with a Cockroach problem. They have a pest control company come about every 2 weeks. After getting hit with a bunch of critical and non-critical infractions, the popular restaurant got the all important word that it was clean from infractions. The district has made its restaurants go through a safety training, and all that have taken it has passed. However, even with the training, cockroaches and mice continue to linger around these restaurants, and its going to be hard to get rid of all of them.

Don’t let infractions like this put your restaurant in jeopardy of closure. Contact JP McHale’s Commercial and Industrial service department fora free inspection and a custom Integrated Pest Management plan for your establishment.

Information from the Ottawa Citizen was used in this article.

“Pretty Darn Serious” Rodent Infestation Closes A Wisconsin Warehouse

Posted on February 5, 2010 with No Comments

1,500 cases of candy and snacks were destroyed in an unlicensed Wisconsin warehouse this week because of a serious rodent infestation.

“For a case to have gotten to this point will tell you it was pretty darn serious.” -FDA Spokesperson, Tom Gasparoli

The warehouse owner, Mark Reisdorf claimed that the establishment did have a few mice, but he was told by the pest control company the establishment was pest free. The warehouse failed to receive its license to store food products when the check to the health department bounced. The building used to be a school, until purchased by Reisdof and changed into “Mid-States Closeouts.” The FDA closed the establishment.

A rodent infestation is not an acceptable to lose business like Mid-States Closeouts will. If you are a property owner or management company, please contact JP McHale Pest Management for a free consultation and to learn more about a custom Integrated Pest Management plan for your property.

Photo Credit

Icy Roads Lead To Rodent Increase In Scotland

Posted on January 20, 2010 with No Comments

Over the past few weeks, pest control companies in Edinburg, Scotland have seen an increase in rodent calls outside restaurants and other types of food establishments. Why? The obvious reason is during the winter rodents will look for warmth and get inside homes. However the reason for this increase is because of icy roads. Town works are unable to access the trash bins so the trash is not removed. Trash removal is essential in keeping a pest free environment. Sometimes it is just not possible to control some factors, which we must work around to develop a unique program tailored to your needs. (Integrated Pest Management)

FDA Seizes $1 Million Worth of Food From Nashville, Tennessee Food Plant

Posted on January 6, 2010 with No Comments

Today the Food and Drug Administration seized over $1 million worth of food from the Nashville, Tennessee based food processor, Won Feng Trading Company. The reason for the seizure was because of unsanitary practices which could have lead to food contamination. It was not made clear to whether or not any of the contaminated food made its way into restaurants that this distributor sells to.

“The FDA will take actions against any food companies that fail to provide adequate safeguards to ensure that products they produce or hold for sale remain free of contamination.”

-FDA Spokesperson

A variety of rice, fresh produce and frozen good were among the foods seized.  Being a clean and sanitary company should be on the top of the list for the managers of this food plant. This kind of violation can tarnish your company’s’ reputation forever. Check out our Commercial and Industrial Pest Control page for information on the services we offer for this type of establishment.

Read the FDA press release.

Cold Weather Will Bring Uninvited Guests To Your Home

Posted on November 17, 2009 with 1 Comment

License photo credit: ezioman

As winter draws closer and closer by the day, your family won’t be the only one that will want the warm comfort of your household. Pests such as insects and rodents will want to share the warmth of your house. Mice are the most common of household pests that find their way into your house. Mice with their small frames and slippery movements can creep and crawl through the smallest of holes and cracks that are in your house (half inch). With the capability of carrying tons of different bacteria and diseases, mice are a rodent that you should be concerned about.

Prevention is the key for keeping these uninvited guests out of your house and in the wild. Make sure you inspect your house occasionally for any open vents, open crawl space doors, and any type of small cracks or holes near the bottom of your outdoor siding. This will keep out most of the bigger rodents out, but this wont be the only type of pest that will try and enter your home. Insects will try and get in as well, any cracks in your house’s siding is a great place for flying insects such as ladybugs, to try and nest and hibernate during the winter months. Keep brush and logs away, these are great spots for animals to find refuge from colder days. Bugs such as the Western Conifer Seed bug (stink bug) love this type of habitat and they will find a way into your house if you do not prevent such un-natural habitats near your home.

Again, rodents and insects are pests that you need to keep out of your home to prevent unsanitary conditions as well as damage to your home. Rodents will leave droppings all around your home, finding their way near children, pets, and can even find their way into your food supply. Take the necessary precautions to avoid pests problems during the winter season and you will find your self having quite a pleasant winter session. Please contact us for a free inspection of your home.

Mosquitoes Can Still Be Seen In The Fall (Wink Wink, Morris County, NJ)

Posted on November 17, 2009 with No Comments

Creative Commons License photo credit: ÇP

In Morris County, New Jersey they have taken these facts and have put together a project that would help prevent above normal mosquito population.  For the past ten years the county has put together a task force that has workers going into the wooded areas of the county and collecting old vehicle tires that have been dumped.  Morris County states that they have recovered just about 52,000 tires since the program started 8 years ago.  The state Department of Environmental Protection states that not only does it reduce the amount of mosquitoes that can populate different areas, it is also a huge environmentally friendly project.  With every tire that is picked up it helps the environment as well as creating a credible recycling source of rubber.  The rubber recovered is chopped up and recycled into things such as playgrounds, rubber footing rings for horseback riding, as well as landscaping.  As a prevention project, Morris County officials say that the cleaning up of dumped tires will help prevent an “inborn” West Nile virus.  Officials state that with the junk tires becoming few in numbers it means that they are getting rid of any lingering mosquitoes that can carry the West Nile virus, stating that most cases of the virus have been totally transient.

Mosquito populations can be prevented by a good percentage with the right prevention steps and tactics. Our Vector Intervention Program targets Mosquitoes, Rodents and Ticks. Please contact us if you are interested in a free inspection.

Why Is Pest Control Necessary For Restaurants and Food Processing Plants?

Posted on November 17, 2009 with No Comments

It is easy for most people to take for granted the cleanliness of both restaurants and food processing plants, and they should. Yet, over and over again we see closings and bankruptcies due to the presence of pests. Whether it’d be rodents or cockroaches or even just ants, pests have been ruining business because of their dirty infestations. Pest control is a number one priority for households, commercial buildings, food processing plants, and of course restaurants. While for households it is a nasty problem that has to be dealt with, it won’t shut down your business as it would for a restaurant. The reason for this is because a clean restaurant/food processing plant is the backbone of their business. If word comes out that your restaurant has pest control problems then patrons will not show up to have dinner. Reputation is a factor for success for many different businesses/workers, but once again it is elevated for businesses that are involved with the selling/distribution of food. The last thing a restaurant needs is for the word to leak about a cockroach infestation; pest infestations will not only temporarily shut down your business but most likely run it into the ground.

Pest related violations account for 95% of restaurant shutdowns! Contact JP McHale for a free needs analysis of your establishment.

10 Great Housekeeping Tips For College Students To Stay Healthy This Winter

Posted on November 10, 2009 with 2 Comments

As the cold days of winter come, so does sickness to that college campus.  To those of you college kids out there reading this blog, or to you concerned parents who wonder what their kids dorms could really ever look like before you come to visit, here are a couple of helpful hints to keep in mind or pass along the way:

1. Always keep a set of disinfectant wipes by your sink.  Use nightly to get rid of any germs that could be spreading.  You wipe your face and brush your teeth here, keep that sink clean!


Creative Commons License photo credit: scatterbrained

2. Always have paper towels set up for emergencies.  Always know where they are located.  This is in order to avoid the “spill-over” (no pun intended) from spills.  When something spills clean it up at once, don’t let it dry out and become a messy, sticky bug-drawing force on your dorm room floor.
3. Make it a daily concern to clean up loose articles of old food and beverages.  This includes all opened water bottles and half eaten bottles of chips.  Even if you don’t realize it, you feel better without all that unnecessary clutter around your room
4. Always have water available.  Be it by the means of drinking out of cups, a Brita, or bottled water, it is necessary as a college kid to be well hydrated and happy.
5. Have that ibuprofen bottle full at all times (especially weekend mornings).  This is a number one tool for all quick fix headaches, minor pains, and hangovers.  Having Nyquil and Dayquil in that top-drawer can’t hurt either.
6. Keep a broom in that room.  You’d be surprised at how much dirt one can sweep up during a quick sweep of the room.  It’s vital to sweep up these parts of the room 2 or 3 times per week.
7. Do not drink or share food with your friends. (Beer pong is a definite no-no)
8. A cup of tea a day or a bowl of soup always feels good on the throat.  Sounds old fashioned, but its true.
9. Go to your local customer value store and purchase a Neti-Pot.  It relieves all reoccurring sinus pains during the winter.  This, and always having tissues handy is key.
10. Change your sheets at least once a week.  Wash your towels/hand towels intensely. We know this may seem like a terrifying adjustment in your life, but it is worth it.  If necessary, have 2 or 3 extra pairs of sheets for quick changing and being able to still avoid doing that laundry.

Integrated Pest Management techniques are also essential. Keeping a clean room is essential. If you spot any bugs or insects it is recommended that you bring it up with your Resident Assistant or Resident Director of your complex.

Five Fall Tips For New York Homeowners

Posted on November 2, 2009 with No Comments

1. Why should I aerate my lawn at this time of the year?

This is the optimum time to set your lawn up for success next spring. Aerating your lawnscape will relieve soil compaction and break down the barrier of thatch resting between soil and new grass seedlings. This exercise will make soil more receptive to water, and essential nutrients, simultaneously expanding root growth.

2. What is the most effective way to prevent wind burn or halt winter damage to my evergreen trees?

Applying an anti-dessicant application to your conifer trees will give the needles a healthy shine, while assisting your arbors in retaining important moisture levels. This environmentally sound, wax based product, seamlessly melts off in spring when your plants are ready to commence the growing season.

3. How do I best prepare my plants, arbors and shrubs for the blistering winter months ahead?

Winter temperatures and weather can wreak havoc on your arbors. Deep root fertilization aerates the soil and constructs a pathway of vitamins and nutrients directly to your arbor’s root system. Your trees and shrubs will retain these essential nutrients, in its root system, pulling from them when required, for early spring growth.

4. Describe the benefits associated with Lime applications to my lawn.

Weeds grow best in acidic soil while grass benefits from a neutral base. Lime neutralizes the soil ph and mitigates any adverse reactions to organic fertilizer applications. Neutral soil optimizes the effects of organic fertilizer. Making a long story short, healthy soil leads to healthy grass. Health grass combats weed development. You cannot get any greener than that!

5. I hear rodent activity spikes this time of the year. How do I protect my house from rodent activity?

As cooler months come upon us rodents will seek entry into warmer areas. It is important you examine potential avenues of entry around your house to exclude these commensal creatures. Openings around garage doors, pipe chasings and foundation cracks can provide access. Seal these openings! Establishing bird houses or feeding bread to birds within 25 feet of your home will attract rodent activity. Do not store bird feed, dry dog food or any other type of feed in bags. Transfer the contents of these products into plastic storage bins if kept under your sink or in basement areas.

Please contact us if you are interested in any of our services. We service New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

How to Build Green and stay Pest Free – Guest Post

Posted on August 24, 2009 with No Comments

This gust post was written by Brittani over at Eden Pest Technologies located in Washington, thanks again Brittani!

With all the attention being paid to building green – it seems that green services should be given more credit. After all, how much good does building green offer if the services provided do not support the green objectives originally intended?

Eden (Integrated Pest Management) is a perfect example. If a house was built to minimize volatile gases then pesticides should not be regularly applied to the structure. Therefore, a green program for pest management is what should be provided.

When considering a green option for pest management, three areas are critical for consideration: method, materials and motive.

1. Method of application is the most important of the three. The core of Eden’s IPM method is our four levels of control: Physical exclusion of the pest from the structure, habitat modification by removal of pest conducive conditions, mechanical controls like traps, nets, etc.; and minimal use of pesticides.
2. Materials, even those considered safe or natural, could be used in a manner that will harm the environment and the people in it if not applied correctly. Eden’s green option, the Natural Choice Program, offers materials that are EPA Exempt and Organic; designed to work with nature… not against it.
3. Motive builds loyalty and trust. Eden is proud to offer sustainable solutions to clients’ pest concerns.  Solving problems through our proven IPM method is what motivates and moves this company forward. We strive to be successful in all we do. Making sure our customers are completely satisfied is Eden’s number one goal.

Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, embraces best practices and methods that include careful inspection and monitoring, incorporating long term and non-material tactics with careful pesticide use – and evaluating those tactics for improvement.

It’s important to find the pest management professional that truly understands the importance of your environment and can not only help you create it but displays similar values in their business approach.